Chapter 8 - Political Geography

Reason States Cooperate

1. Political: 2. Military: 3. Economic:

Balance of Power

A condition of roughly equal strength between opposing alliances.

Multinational State

A country that contains more than one ethnicity with traditions of self-determination. Ex: The Soviet Union was a prime example of a multinational state until its collapse, Russia, which comprised the largest portion of the Soviet Union, is now the world's largest multinational state.

European Union (EU)

A economic alliance that formed in Europe during the Cold War. It was formed in 1958 with six members—Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). It was designed to heal Western Europe's scars from WWII when Nazi Germany, in alliance with Italy, conquered the other four countries. It expanded to 27 countries during the first decade of the 21st century.

City-State

A sovereign state that comprises a town and the surrounding countryside. Walls clearly delineated the boundaries of a city and outside the walls the city controlled the agricultural land to produce food for urban residents.

Regime Types

A state can have two types of government: a national government and a local government. At the national scale, a government can be more or less democratic. A the local scale, the national government can determine how much power to allocate to local governments. There are three different classifications of national governments: 1. Democracy: A country in which citizens elect leaders and can run for office. A democracy has institutions and procedures through which citizens can express effective preferences about alternative policies and leaders. It had institutionalized constraints on the exercise of power by the executive. It guarantees civil liberties to all citizens in their daily lives and in acts of political participation. 2. Autocracy: A country that is run according to the interests of the ruler rather than the people. Autocracies has leaders who are selected according to clearly defined (usually hereditary) rules succession from within the established political elite. It has citizens' participation sharply restricted or suppressed. It has leaders who exercise power with no meaningful checks from legislative, judicial, or civil society institutions. 3. Anocracy: A country that is not fully democratic or fully autocratic, but rather displays a mix of two types.

Multiethnic State

A state that contains more than one ethnicity. Every state in the world is to a vary degree multiethnic. In some multiethnic states, ethnicities all contribute cultural features to the formation of a single nationality. Ex: The U.S. has numerous ethnicities, but every citizen belongs to the American nationality.

Nation State

A state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity. Ethnic groups have pushed to create nation-sates because desire for self-rule is a very important shared attitude for many of them.

Frontier

A zone where no state exercises complete political control. The land was tangible, but uninhabited or sparsely settled. Frontiers between states have been replaced by boundaries.

Federal State

Allocates strong power to units of local government within a country. Multinational states may adopt a federal system of government to empower different nationalities, especially if they live in separate regions of a country. It is more suitable for large states because the national capital may be too remote to provide effective control over isolated regions. Ex: United States

Fertile Crescent

An ancient area that formed an arc between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea where the development of states can be traced back to. Situated at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa, the Fertile Crescent was a center for land and sea communications in ancient times.

State

An area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government that has control over its internal and foreign affairs. It occupies a defined territory on Earth's surface and contains a permanent population. Synonym: Country. The largest state is Russia.

Colonialism

An effort by one country to establish settlements in a territory and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles on that territory. Ex: European states came to control much of the world through colonialism. They promoted Christianity, extracted resources, and established power.

Boundary

An invisible line that marks the extent of a state's territory. Boundaries completely surround an individual state to mark the outer limits of its territorial control and to give it a distinctive shape. 1. Physical Boundary: Coincide with significant features of a natural landscape. Physical features make good boundaries because they are easily seen both on a map and on the ground. Ex: deserts, mountain ranges, and bodies of water 2. Cultural Boundary: Follow the distribution of cultural characteristics. Ex: Geometric, ethnic, and Cyprus's "Green Line" boundary (geographically isolated Greek and Turkish Cypriot nationalities by the construction of a wall)

Sovereignty

Independence from control of its internal affairs by other states.

Landlocked State

Lacks a direct outlet to a sea because it is completely surrounded by several other countries. Landlocked states are most common in Africa.

Unitary State

Places most power in the hands of central government officials. Works best in nation-states characterized by few internal cultural differences and a strong sense of national unity. Some multinational states have adopted unitary systems, so that the values of one nationality can be imposed on others. Ex: Kenya, Rwanda

Reasons States Compete

States compete for control of territory, access to trading resources, and influence over other states. To further competitive goals, states may from alliances with other states.

Microstates

States with very small land areas. There are about two dozen microstates. The smallest microstate is Monaco.

South Pole

The South Pole contains the only large landmasses on Earth's surface that are not part of a state. Several states claim portions of this region, and some claims overlap and cause conflict. The United States, Russia, and other countries do not recognize the claims of any country to Antartica. The Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959, by 47 states, provides a legal framework for managing Antartica.

Self-Determination

The concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves.

United Nations (U.N.)

The most important global organization. Created at the end of WWII by the Allies. The UN has provided a forum for the discussion of international problems. On occasion, the UN has intervened in conflicts between or within member states, authorizing military and peace-keeping actions. The UN seeks to promote international cooperation to address global economic problems, promote human rights, and provide humanitarian relief.

Gerrymandering

The process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power. Gerrymandering can take the form of wasted votes, excess votes, and stacked votes.

Shape of States

The shapes of states control the length of its boundaries with other states. The shape therefore affects the potential for communication and conflict with neighbors. The shape is a part of its unique identity. Each shape displays distinctive characteristics and challenges. 1. Compact: The distance from the center to any boundary that does not vary significantly. Immensely efficient. The ideal theoretical compact state would be shaped like a circle, with the capital at the center and with the shortest possible boundaries to defend. Compactness can be a beneficial characteristic for smaller states because communications can be more easily established with all regions, especially if the capital is located near the center. However, compact states are just as likely as others to experience civil wars and ethnic rivalries. Ex: Poland 2. Elongated: Have a long and narrow shape. Elongated states may suffer from potential isolation and poor internal communications. A region located at an extreme end of the elongation might be isolated from the capital, which is usually placed near the center. Ex: Malawi, Gambia, Chile 3. Prorupted: A compact state with large projecting extension. Proruptions are crated for two reasons: 1) To provide a state with access to a resource, such as water. 2) To separate two states that otherwise would share a boundary. Ex: Democratic Republic of Congo, Belgium, Namibia 4. Perforated: A state that completely surrounds another state. The state that is surrounded may face problems of dependence on, or interference from, the surrounding state. Ex: South Africa surrounds Lesotho 5. Fragmented: Includes several discontinuous pieces of a territory. All states that have offshore islands as part of their territory are fragmented. Fragmented states may face problems and costs associated with communications and maintaining national unity. States can be fragmented by water or by an intervening state. Ex: Tanzania, Indonesia, Angola, Russia

Terrorism

The systematic use of violence by a group in order to intimidate a population or coerce a government into granting its demands. They will bomb, kidnap, hijack, take hostages, and assassinate to provoke fear.

Sovereign States (1945 - 2011)

When it was organized in 1945, the UN originally the UN had 51 members, including 49 sovereign states. Since 2011, the number of UN members has reached 193.